


Kiss me

by Khim_Azaghal



Category: Poldark - All Media Types, Return to Treasure Island (TV 1996)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, ERASMUS - Freeform, Housemates, Jim had a secret crush on Ross, Jim studies psychology, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ross is a biology student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:44:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khim_Azaghal/pseuds/Khim_Azaghal
Summary: Jim studies psychology in Lille (France) and shares a four-room apartment with three housemates. Among them is a fellow Englishman called Ross...





	Kiss me

It was Jim’s turn to do the grocery shopping. This was part of the system he and his housemates had set up since they had been sharing a four-room apartment in Lille.

 

So far, his stay in France was going on well. His psychology studies captivated him, and the university was only a twenty-minute underground ride away. The apartment he lived in was a bit small but very cosy with lovely ancient charm, and he had a pretty decent room overlooking the street.

 

Jim liked his housemates as well. There was Mélanie, the local of the group, who was studying Art History. Her boyfriend, Christophe, was studying Art History as well and was from Belgium. And then, there was Ross.

 

Ross was a fellow Englishman, which had comforted Jim when he was still a bit lost in his new environment and needed to improve his French. Ross was a biologist, studying to get specialised in the biology of plants and microorganisms. And Jim had had a serious crush on him from the first time he had seen him.

 

Brief periods of giddy excitement had often moved on to profound states of despair.

 

Firstly, Jim was so much closeted he didn’t know if he could come out to anyone. None of his housemates knew about his sexuality, and he thought it was better that way for now.

Secondly, he was 99% sure Ross wasn’t interested in him at all. The bloke seemed to be a total loner. Not that he wasn’t nice, on the contrary. But he was so immersed in his studies most of the time that he regularly skipped the Thursday evenings at the pub (which was a shame). Also, like Jim, Mélanie and Christophe were on the same campus, but Ross was on another one, and that didn’t help to get closer to him.

Finally, Jim just didn’t know if Ross was gay or not. The young man just didn’t seem to have any interest in men or women.

 

In a general way, Ross was impossible to read. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming on words and seemed to brood over something most of the time. But when he was in the mood for fun, he was entirely someone else. Ross could drink anyone under the table any given time. His laugh, loud and infectious, was a delight for Jim’s ears. He also had the most glorious head of riotous curls Jim had ever seen, and his long and slender legs were always clad in tight black denim, which wasn’t good for Jim’s heart rate. Not to mention Ross’ ass. And his broad shoulders. And his eyes. And his-

 

“God, I’m so fucked,” muttered Jim as he was riding the underground from his campus toward Lille Flandres train station. On an impulse, he decided to stop there instead of continuing toward République Beaux-Arts. There was a small Marks and Spencer shop in the station concourse, and Jim had the habit of purchasing a few English products there when he was feeling a bit homesick. Sugary comfort food was particularly his thing. 

On his way to checkout, Jim passed by the drinks aisle, and his eyes got caught by bottles of Cornish apple cider. Without thinking, he added two of them to his shopping basket.

 

********

 

Later that evening, Jim and Ross had taken refuge in the kitchen, not knowing what to do about the situation happening in the living room. Mélanie and Christophe were arguing, and it was nasty. The boys couldn’t understand everything as the other two were shouting in French and at supersonic speed for their British ears.

 

The main problem was that both Jim and Ross’ bedrooms were on the other side of the living room, and none of the boys wanted to cross that area, which had become the equivalent of a battlefield at the moment. Retreating to the bathroom was beyond ridiculous, and they didn’t want to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. It was Friday night, for fuck’s safe! So Jim and Ross took the courageous decision to head to the nearest pub where they could have some peace and (almost) quiet.

 

********

 

Usually, nights at L’Atomic involved at least five to ten people from their group of uni friends. Tonight, it was only the two of them, and it felt a bit weird to Jim. In his wildest dreams, he wouldn’t have dared to think it could be possible but here they were, smoking and nursing their pints at a tiny table on the pavement seating area.

 

The night was young, and Solférino street was busy. With his back to the street, Jim could gaze peacefully at Ross as the latter’s look was often distracted by the passers-by.

When Ross’ eyes went suddenly back on Jim, Jim avoided his gaze and took a big swallow of beer.

 

“So… It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?” Ross asked, an amused smile dancing on his lips.

“Huh? What’s weird?” Jim had a deer-in-headlights look plastered on his face, and Ross laughed.

“That we’re stuck here because our housemates are fighting, that’s what’s weird!”

Both boys snorted before laughing in earnest.

 

********

 

The evening at L’Atomic had been more than pleasant for the both of them.  
  


Ross, who was usually the quiet type around people, had chatted with Jim and had shared many personal things with him.  
  


Jim intrigued Ross. Tonight, the blond’s sunny personality had been a bit muffled, as if he was almost shy, and Ross had liked it. It had been as if the “real” Jim was in front of him, and he liked this one a lot. Not that he disliked Jim’s exuberance, but seeing him without a bunch of other people around suited Ross better.

 

The young men had discovered they had a lot in common. First, they were more than geeks; they were total nerds. Ross was obsessed with plants, but also rocks and soil, and he was an avid reader of fantasy. Jim was into all forms of art, but his favourite one was cinema. They both loved the sea, and they missed it terribly. Ross was an excellent swimmer, and Jim used to sail whenever he could.

Jim was astonished by the number of things he had learned about Ross in one evening. He had understood why Ross had often bailed out when the whole group wanted to go out for drinks. It wasn’t because he needed to study. Ross wasn’t at ease with large groups of people and didn’t like to socialise in general, except when he felt comfortable enough, and this didn’t happen very often. Knowing this made Jim feel quite special. Ross had also revealed the story behind the scar on his face. Jim had been amazed to learn it had happened during a pub fight with a certain George, “an absolute asshole” according to Ross.

 

After a few hours of pleasant conversation between several drinks and smokes, the lads had decided to go home.

 

So, around midnight, Jim and Ross staggered back to their apartment, giggling as their shoulders brushed and bumped a few times.

 

********

 

Arrived at the bottom of their building, Jim and Ross looked up to see if there was still light inside the apartment.

 

“Seems like they’re still there,” Ross muttered.

 

Jim tried to compose the door code, but his fingers had apparently decided not to follow his brain’s orders. Beside him, Ross snickered.

 

“Are you gonna let us in or what?” Ross asked between two fits of giggles.

 

Jim had never heard Ross giggle, and he found it quite endearing.

 

After the fourth attempt, the door opened with an audible “klang”. Ross switched the staircase light on and stumbled across the building entrance before bumping against the nearest wall. Behind him, Jim tried to catch Ross by the arm, and they both fell to the floor. A second passed before the boys looked at each other and snickered.

 

“Oh, mate, you’re so shitfaced!” Jim slurred.

“So are you! Come on, help me up.”

 

And Jim tried. But Ross’ long legs refused to cooperate, and they both tumbled at the bottom of the stairs. On the first floor, a door opened, and someone yelled at them to stop their racket before slamming their door shut, causing even more noise and making a dog bark a few stories above.

 

The boys clasped their hands on their mouths and tried to stifle their laughing fit. Just as they managed to get on their feet, the time switch turned off, and they remained a few seconds in the dark. Jim and Ross tried to reach the switch at the same time and got a bit tangled. When the light came back, Jim was between Ross and the wall, their bodies almost touching.

There was no laugh this time. Jim felt his face heat up and gulped hard. Oblivious of Jim’s unease, Ross gave him a crooked grin and huffed a laugh. Jim couldn’t answer, and a few seconds passed.

 

“We’d better go upstairs,” Jim said to break the silence.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’d better,” Ross answered before moving aside to let Jim go.

 

********

 

Jim and Ross climbed the stairs in silence, both looking at their feet. Ross opened the front door as silently as possible and let Jim in. They took their coats and scarves off as well as their shoes. They went to the kitchen to have a glass of water.

 

Ross eyed Jim from the corner of his eye, wondering why Jim had had this strange reaction when they were downstairs. He was a bit sad and worried that the situation had turned this awkward between them.

 

Jim didn’t dare to look at Ross. He was so embarrassed. The evening had been so good; why did he have to ruin it with this stupid reaction, why? Jim feared he had broken their bond and he was mad at himself. Now, all he wanted was to go to bed and forget about all that.

 

“Jim? You look a bit pale. Are you all right?”

 

Looking at his feet, Jim answered he was tired and wanted to go to bed. Ross agreed with a nod of his head, and the boys headed for the living room.

 

********

 

The show that greeted them when they entered the room made them quickly retreat to the kitchen for the second time in the evening.

 

Jim’s face was brick red, and Ross looked appalled.

 

“I can’t believe they’re shagging on the sofa!” Ross exclaimed.

“Fucking animals…” Jim muttered.

“Fuck, we all sit on this bloody sofa! It’s disgusting!”

“I need to bleach my eyes… and ears…”

 

Ross grabbed an empty plastic bottle from the recycling bin and filled it with cold water. He cast a determined look at Jim and took his hand before pulling Jim away with him.

 

“Time to separate those horny dogs!” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first DarkHawk! I wanted to write for this pairing for a long time, and I feel a bit nervous about it to be honest. Special thanks to Chelidona for the quick beta reading <3
> 
> Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and you're all welcome to comment :) See ya in the pillow fort!


End file.
